Legend of the Female General

A Sword-Grabbing Saga That Will Tickle Your Bones

The Legend of the Female General is a hilarious drama that I enjoyed immensely. Its entire premise is a crater-sized plot hole, so if you can't suspend disbelief big time, best give this one a skip. The title makes its mythic, Hua Mulan-esque aspirations obvious (Mulan, of course, being a legend herself). The indisputably romantic and lyrical Chinese title, 锦月如歌 (Song of the Brocade Moon), makes it clear this is more Art of Love than Art of War. And in that, it delivers in spades as a sword-grabbing saga that will tickle your bones.

For me, the unwitting humor here far surpasses that of A Dream Within A Dream (which I dropped), which tried so hard to be a parody it was more stressful than amusing. This drama comically embraces a bunch of the best, most incredulously well-loved tropes with abandon and just runs with them, not caring if they are well-stitched together. While I found it a nonsensical riot, I totally understand why it's been panned.

To preserve their military status, the (dumb-dumb) He family swaps out their sickly, all-important male child, He Rufei, for their robust and completely expendable daughter, He Yan. They couldn't find a big and tall girl, so they made do with a short, scrawny, and chesty one. She grows up wearing a mask and achieves glory as the redoubtable General Feihong, whose military successes are so awesome they make the real He Rufei wish he'd been born short and scrawny sans boobs. He stages an epic recovery at the height of her fame and swoops in to steal her glory. Of course, no one notices the one-head height difference because this kingdom is a classic Darwin 101 example of a state doomed to extinction. After reclaiming his name, he arranges for her to fall off a cliff, evidently unaware that no one dies falling off a cliff in a Chinese drama.

Disguised as a man, He Yan later joins the Yezhou army led by the no less renowned General Feihong—her old classmate, Xiao Jue. Suspecting "he" is a spy, Xiao Jue gives "him" the hot side-eye many times until the thrust of his mighty sword is parried by a pair of boobies. Yes, shame on me! I loved all the dirty jokes and naughty-but-nice innuendo that had me gawking at my big-screen TV with a stupid, lovestruck grin. I wasn't bothered at all that the cross-dressing "pretty boy" He Yan went full-on girly on Xiao Jue with her shameless flirting and half-innocent innuendo.

The truth is, I don't dislike trashy idol romance dramas when they are made like this. Most of the time, I drop them because I've seen the leads go through the same tired motions with so many other pairings that the chemistry feels contrived. There is nothing more nauseating than the dreadful dead-duck stare that so many third-rate traffic actors try to sell as infatuation. This drama works because I was hooked by Zhou Ye and Cheng Lei's chemistry. I saw an explosion of sparks every time he side-eyed her and she ogled him right back like she was ready to misbehave. True story: after the hot moment of enlightenment in Episode 4, my old big-screen TV literally died on me, and I had to rush-order a new one.

I won't bother shredding the plot and logic holes—there are lots of them, and far more articulate voices have already gone to town on it. Undeniably, the compelling chemistry and strong portrayals by both Cheng Lei and Zhou Ye carry this drama, bolstered by solid performances all around. I was charmed by how naturally Li Qing brought to life the face-swapped role of Cheng Lisu, and his romance with Song Tao Tao was cute and funny. Chu Zhao is the best-written, most multifaceted character in the story. The conflict between his ambition and his morality is well-played by Zhang Kangle. I had to laugh at how Bai Shu totally hammed up his cartoon villain with wildly exaggerated facial expressions; he seemed to be having the time of his life.

By far the strongest aspect of this drama are the fight scenes—they are brutally intense, fast-paced, and thrilling. This director is known for problematic storytelling, but his action choreography is really something else. Some of the war tactics are creative takes on famous Three Kingdoms battles.

As for Zhou Ye, she is a total firecracker who absolutely lights up the fiery scenes as delightfully as she owns the cute, girly bits. On the surface, she may not look the part of a female general, but she certainly acted it in the fight scenes. Too many idol actors shirk hardcore action, daring to pass off a few showy twirls and wimpy sleeve-swats as fighting. As He Yan, Zhou Ye really wielded her spear and sword powerfully and vehemently; the strain of demanding moves was visible on her features. She is a professionally trained ballerina—incredibly strong and athletic despite her size. Not all generals have to be tall and physically imposing; many famous ones were more brain than brawn. Zhuge Liang of Three Kingdoms fame was skinny and runty with mediocre combat skills, wandering into battle with his fan. While the fearsome Cao Cao was a killing machine, both he and the unbeatable Yue Fei were allegedly quite short and possibly even stocky. Oh, the preconceived notions we have! What pains me most is that no one asks why cast such a tall actor as Bai Shu as He Rufei instead of why cast Zhou Ye as He Yan.

I'm not trying to deflect the well-deserved criticisms. This is indubitably not an award-winning masterpiece, but it won my heart with its cheeky adult humor, melting romance, gripping action, and overall engaging rehash of cheesy tropes. Even with my 9.5+ rated dramas, I'm not much of a re-watcher. But this is one of the few trashy gems with scenes I can see myself replaying when I'm bored. Happy to rate this 8/10 as a top-tier guilty pleasure.

Read More

"I hope that in this world, there is someone who will come just for me."

"Legend of the Female General" (锦月如歌) is one of my highly anticipated dramas for 2025. It is based on the novel "Rebirth of a Star General" by Qian Shan Cha Ke, but I haven't read the book, so my review is based solely on the drama.

(NOTE: This review has been sitting in my drafts folder for 2 months, and I'm glad to finally publish it!)

PRODUCTION 📺:

For me, one of the things I like most in this drama are the action scenes, which are so well executed. Most of the time, as they wield their swords, whips and spears, I was glued to the screen, and I felt like I had an adrenaline rush just by watching them 😂. I think the production team really put effort into the choreography. Some memorable scenes include:
• He Yan's sword dance in Yezhou👏 ~  It's a combination of gracefulness and strength.
• He Yan's Duel with Ding Yi ~ Badass He Yan at one of her finest scenes!
• He Yan's face-off with the Lie He commander ~ this scene and the events leading up to it are just brilliantly done.
• Their battle with Wu Tuo at Jiyang and  He Yan's fight with Hu Ya Te, the commander of Wu Tuo.

There are still other action scenes of He Yan and Xiao Jue that I like, but I won't mention all of them anymore.

As for the location shoots and costumes, they are appropriate and meet my expectations for a costume drama set in a fictional period in Chinese history.

STORY/PLOT 📚:

Right from the start, the drama team shows us that one of the story's main themes is the romance between He Yan and Xiao Jue. For me, they have shown enough of the romantic aspect in the drama.  I also like the snippets of flashbacks in some episodes that show the dynamics between He Yan and Xiao Jue when they were still students in Xianchang Academy.

The military aspect is also dealt with, and their military exploits/espionage activities are complemented by the excellent fight scenes.  Another thing I appreciate in the drama is that He Yan's military genius, leadership and commanding presence really shine through in the scenes where they're needed.

Overall, the drama's pacing is good.  Each arc is given time and space to develop, except maybe for the last arc. As for the ending, it gives a good wrap-up for most of the characters.

There are some parts that could be better though:
• I wish they had shown more background on He Yan and her master Liu Bu Wang, like where and how they met, and how he helped mould her to become the person she is.
• Some parts could have been fleshed out further, but given the number of episodes, I think we got a good compromise.
• I was disppointed with how the scriptwriters treated General Yan He's character (played by Peter Sheng) towards the end.

CAST/ACTING 🎭:

Zhou Ye as He Yan is the one that stands out for me. She was able to show the different sides of He Yan - one who's feminine yet not dainty, sharp and strategic, an ace fighter and a leader. When she fights, she slays it! There were just some scenes with Xiao Jue in Yezhou city where I think she acted a bit too feminine, when she was supposed to be a man at that time.

Cheng Lei is one good actor who has portrayed memorable characters in other dramas, e.g., Gong Shang Jue in "My Journey to You". Here, he brings the same kind of intensity and focus as Xiao Jue. There are moments though when I feel he could bring more depth/emotions to his scenes.

He Ru Fei got my blood boiling many times; his character is so infuriating! Based on this alone, I'd say Bai Shu did a good job portraying him. He Ru Fei is a despicable character, with little redeeming qualities.

Zhang Kang Le was able to show the morally grey aspect of Chu Zhao. He could have been a great statesman, had he learned to let go of his obssession.

Li Qing as Cheng Li Su and Zhang Miao Yi as Song Tao Tao contributed to the light-hearted scenes. I like that they put these two characters in the drama.

QUOTABLE QUOTE 🔮:

"有时候做一个人的替身久了，难免会忘记自己是谁。我希望，这世上有那么一个人是为我而来。" ~ 禾晏
"Sometimes, when you've been another person's substitute for so long, you might forget who you are. I hope that in this world, there is someone who will come just for me." ~ He Yan

FINAL VERDICT ⭐️: If you like military dramas with great fight scenes and romance, and a kick-ass female lead who succeeded in a male-dominated world (despite having to dress up as a man first), then I would recommend this. Despite some parts that could have been better, this is still a good watch for me.

Read More